This application claims the priority of German application 197 25 217.6-21, filed in Germany on Jun. 15, 1997.
The invention relates to a wind protection arrangement for an open motor vehicle, having a flexible flat shaped structure which extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle and is fixed to the vehicle, and which is arranged so it can be rolled up and unrolled on a roll-up device, between a rolled-up inoperative position and a protective position pulled out upwards over a vehicle space boundary.
A wind protection device of this type is known from German Patent Document DE 40 37 705 C1. There, a rigid horizontally arranged covering is provided for the front area of a convertible, on which covering a wind-up roller is mounted adjacently at the level of the vehicle board edge directly behind the front seats, which wind-up roller contains a flexible wind partition which can be pulled out in the upward direction. The wind partition can be unrolled from a wound-up inoperative position into an operative position in which it is fastened to an upright rollover bar fixedly connected with the vehicle body and is mounted vertically behind the front seats.
In addition, from Patent Document WO 94/03342, a wind protection arrangement is known which consists of a flexible fabric-type foil with reinforcing devices extending in the transverse direction of the vehicle. The completely removable wind protection arrangement is stretched over the backrest of a rear seat bench from which it is first guided horizontally toward the front to an area below a rollover bar, in which case, particularly at this point, cross struts are provided within the wind protection arrangement. A fixing in this position takes place by way of tightening straps. In its further course, the fabric-type foil is guided diagonally upwards and is fastened and mounted on a rigid rollover bar behind the front seats.
It is an object of the invention to provide a wind protection arrangement of the initially mentioned type in the case of which the storage space for the wind protection arrangement in its inoperative position is arranged particularly advantageously in the vehicle and the pulling-out and mounting of the wind protection device can be carried out in a particularly simple manner.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by providing a wind protection arrangement for an open motor vehicle, having a flexible flat shaped structure which is arranged so it can be rolled up and unrolled on a roll-up device, which extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle and is fixed to the vehicle, between a rolled-up inoperative position and a protective position pulled out upwards over a vehicle board, wherein the front edge of the flat shaped structure, which is forward in a pull-out direction, is fixed on a mounting frame which can be swivelled between a folded-over basic position and an erected operative position about a swivel axis extending in parallel to a bearing axis of the roll-up device.
By means of the solution according to the invention, a durable linking of the flexible flat shaped structure forming the wind partition to the mounting frame as well as to the roll-up device can be achieved. As a result, a reliable and secure bearing of the flexible flat shaped structure which is easy to handle is obtained in the rolled-up inoperative position as well as in the pulled out protective position. Since, at any point in time of the pull-out operation, the flexible flat shaped structure is fixed between the mounting frame and the roll-up device, a direct manual handling of the flat shaped structure itself is not necessary which, on the one hand, increases its service life and, on the other hand, permits an automation of the erecting operation. In addition, the solution according to the invention does not require--as is the case in the state of the art--a vehicle-body-fixed rigid rollover bar on which the flat shaped structure is fixed. On the contrary, the solution according to the invention is suitable particularly for completely open convertibles without rollover bars, in that it offers a good wind protection effect also for these vehicles.
By means of an advantageous further development of preferred embodiments of the invention, a favorable arrangement of the flat shaped structure in its protective position is achieved by providing an arrangement wherein the roll-up device is arranged relative to the normal driving direction of the vehicle on a back side with respect to a rear area of a vehicle interior, and wherein at least in the protective position of the flat shaped structure directly behind a front seat area of the vehicle interior, a deflection support is provided which extends in the transverse direction of the vehicle and about which the pulled-out flat shaped structure is deflected such that it is divided into a covering section spanning the rear area and into a protective section extending upwards.
In particular, the flat shaped structure simultaneously permits wind protection of the front seat area as well as a covering of the rear area. In addition, it can be positioned, including its mounting frame, in a particularly advantageous manner in its rolled-up inoperative position on the rear side of the rear area in the vehicle so that the seats in the rear area are also freely available.
By means of an arrangement wherein the deflection support is disposed in a linearly displaceable manner between a rearward end position adjacent to the roll-up device and a forward end position arranged directly behind the front seat area, a reliable positioning of the flexible flat shaped structure in its protective position is permitted which can be implemented at low expenditures.
By means of an advantageous further development of the invention wherein the deflection support is forcedly coupled by means of a transmission linkage such with the mounting frame that, in the event of a linear displacement of the deflection support, the mounting frame is swivelled into its operative position or its basic position, the movements of the mounting frame and of the deflection support are coupled so that the thus created guiding mechanism, together with the flat shaped structure, can be swivelled by means of a single force to be introduced from its basic position into an operating position.
According to another advantageous feature of preferred embodiments of the present invention, a driving mechanism is provided for the linear displacement of the deflection support which permits the introduction of a precisely definable force to the guiding linkage.
By means of an arrangement according to certain preferred embodiments wherein the driving mechanism has a scissors-type linkage which is fixedly disposed on the vehicle and is linked to the deflection support and which can be operated by means of an adjusting element, an automatic triggering of the wind protection arrangement is permitted which can be implemented by simple devices.
By means of an arrangement according to certain preferred embodiments wherein the scissors-type linkage has double-sided linkage sections which can be operated jointly and synchronously by the adjusting element, a driving mechanism is provided which can be handled in a particularly simple and reliable manner.
By means of an arrangement according to certain preferred embodiments wherein the linkage sections are provided with stops in their stretched over-dead-center positions, the stretched over-dead-center positions corresponding to the operative position of the deflection support, a locking of the wind protection arrangement in its operative position is achieved in a particularly simple manner. In this case, the restoring force of the roll-up device is utilized for fixing the scissors-type linkage in its over-dead-center position so that a locking effect is obtained and a separating locking device is not necessary.
By means of an arrangement according to certain preferred embodiments of the present invention wherein a pneumatic or hydraulic lifting cylinder is provided as the adjusting element and extends transversely between the two linkage sections, on the one hand, an adjusting element is provided which is particularly easy to handle and, on the other hand, a favorable introduction of force into the scissors-type linkage is provided. Furthermore, a space-saving and reliably operating drive for the wind protection device is obtained.